Data Governance Guidelines for MIDFIELD Data Access

Ensuring Confidentiality and Ethical Use

Access Restrictions

  • Non-Disclosure Agreements: Access to the MIDFIELD data is exclusively granted to researchers who have executed comprehensive non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with ASEE.
  • Consequences of Agreement Breach: Non-compliance with the NDA terms may result in legal action and notification of the breach to the National Science Foundation. Maintaining data confidentiality is paramount.

Researcher Responsibilities

Researchers accessing MIDFIELD data must adhere to the following stipulations:

  1. Institutional Anonymity: Refrain from disclosing the identity of institutions from which the data originates in any publication or presentation.
  2. IRB Approval Documentation: Provide a copy of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for the intended research project.
  3. Data Security: Ensure that the data is stored on a secure, password-protected computer. Access to raw data should be limited to individuals who have a valid NDA on file with ASEE for the MIDFIELD project.
  4. Reporting Guidelines: Present findings in a manner that prevents the identification of individual institutions. This may include aggregating data for a minimum of five institutions, altering labels in different graphical representations, etc.
  5. Review by ASEE Staff: Submit any figures or statistical tables intended for publication or presentation for review by ASEE staff. This review is to confirm that no institutional identities can be discerned from the data.
  6. Ethical Usage: Commit to ethical use of the data, specifically avoiding any attempts to re-identify individual students within the dataset.
  7. Limitations on Reporting Small Numbers: Refrain from reporting data for groups smaller than 10 students in any given category (‘per cell’) to ensure anonymity.
  8. Data Destruction: Obligate to destroy any data obtained from MIDFIELD upon the expiration of authorization or upon request by ASEE staff.

Commitment to Integrity

The MIDFIELD project, managed by ASEE, is committed to upholding the highest standards of data governance. These guidelines ensure that the data is used responsibly and ethically, protecting the privacy of individuals and institutions while fostering valuable research contributions.